Chapter 47: Chapter 47: The Dangers of Adolescent Hood, Caution in Joining
Watching the defiant attitude of the domesticated elf in front of her, Lady Pongfrey shrugged helplessly, deciding not to press further.
After all, domesticated elves, everyone knew, were like this. Since the other party wasn't willing to talk, no amount of questioning would be of any use.
But the domesticated elf in front of her was dressed quite well. Judging by the quality, that exquisite clothing must have been quite expensive. Had Hogwarts' funds really become so abundant?
Damn it! Dumbledore would rather allocate funds to custom-made clothes for domesticated elves than give her a raise? It's been nearly ten years since she last had one! This matter wasn't over!
...
After some time had passed, Bell slowly opened his eyes again. He felt the pain had subsided considerably, and his brain no longer felt as if it had crashed.
He took a deep breath and looked out the window, realizing it was already nighttime, judging by the moon's angle, probably deep into the night.
"Young Master! You've finally woken up! You've been unconscious for a day!" Lym's excited voice came from the darkness, startling Bell.
Bell turned to see Lym slowly approaching, his eyes bloodshot.
"Were you here the whole time, Lym? And what happened to your eyes?" Bell asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Young Master. Lym has been waiting for you to wake up. My kind young master! To think that you would care about Lym as soon as you wake up, Lym is truly moved! But Lym doesn't deserve your concern. Lym is a bad elf who couldn't fulfill the Young Master's orders! Please punish Lym severely!" Lym's eyes welled up with tears as he spoke.
"No, you've done well, Lym. You shouldn't be punished," Bell comforted.
Despite some flaws, he genuinely felt Lym had done a good job.
"No! No!! No!!! Clearly, the Young Master ordered to stop you immediately and to do so with all my might, but Lym couldn't do it. That's why the Young Master suffered such serious injuries! Lym is a bad elf and should be punished! Lym…"
Rubbing his ears, which had been pained by Lym's sharp voice, Bell looked at Lym's excited and somewhat incoherent state, sighed, and then spoke after some thought.
"Alright, considering you didn't perform well in your previous task, I've decided on the following punishment for you: 'Return to the training camp and undergo one month of advanced training. If you fail to achieve first place in the final assessment, you will no longer be my exclusive domesticated elf, and I will assign you another job.'"
"Young Master, Lym should receive a harsher punishment!"
"Are you questioning me?"
"No! Lym dares not! Young Master, Lym will undergo the training and will definitely achieve first place in the assessment!"
Facing Bell's stern gaze, Lym resolutely accepted the punishment.
"Well, once my injury is healed, you can go back. Remember to instruct the other domesticated elves to come over; I still need some assistance, just three of them."
"Young Master, are you still going to continue with the previous experiment? It's too dangerous!"
Lym waved his hands anxiously, trying to dissuade Bell from his dangerous idea.
"Don't worry, it won't be like before. Once was enough for that experience; the next experiments will be much safer. Alright, you've also had a long day, go rest, I need some quiet."
"Yes, Young Master. If you need anything, please call me at any time."
With a soft sound, Lym disappeared from the infirmary. Bell finally had time to assess his own condition.
Bell tried to scan his body using magic, but as soon as he attempted it, he felt a sharp pain throughout his body. It seemed his injuries were more severe than he had imagined. Distracted by Lym's conversation, he had forgotten to inquire about his specific condition. However, judging by Lym's reaction, there shouldn't be any major issues.
...
In the morning, a commotion woke Bell from his slumber.
Having nothing else to do last night, Bell had forced himself to sleep again. They say sleeping more when injured aids recovery, right? However, sleeping too much had left him feeling a bit groggy, and it took him a while to realize he was still in the school infirmary.
Madam Pomfrey had already approached to check on Bell's condition.
"By the way, I still don't know your name. What exactly happened to you? How did your magic go out of control?" she asked.
"Hello, Madam Pomfrey. My name is Bell Minashel. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you about my experience. Can you tell me about my condition? How long will it take to recover?" Bell replied.
"Hmph!"
Madam Pomfrey grunted displeased. However, she had long been accustomed to such situations. Those mischievous young wizards never wanted to reveal the foolish things they did. Still, she couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"Your condition is terrible! It won't be healed in a month! You're forbidden from using magic during this month!"
Reality tells us never to annoy our attending physicians, or else trivial matters in their mouths can become significant problems.
Bell wasn't so easily fooled by Madam Pomfrey; he wasn't one of those young wizards.
Upon waking up, he could feel that his condition had improved significantly from last night. Although it wasn't suitable to use magic now, it wasn't as severe as Madam Pomfrey claimed.
According to Bell's estimation, with about a week of rest, his injuries would heal. Madam Pomfrey's strict instructions led Bell to spend another day in the infirmary until evening before returning to his dormitory, citing the need to prepare for tomorrow's classes. Before leaving, Madam Pomfrey repeatedly instructed Bell not to use magic during classes and to focus on theoretical knowledge.
Back in his dormitory, Bell's roommates were curious about where he had been last night. Bell casually brushed them off with the excuse that he couldn't answer the question about the Ravenclaw's riddle and had to find a classroom to sleep in.
...
Because Bell didn't have any friends at school, no one knew he had spent a day and night in the infirmary.
The following week passed uneventfully. To prevent aggravating his injuries, Bell suspended even basic training during this week. He also refrained from constantly studying magic books and instead enjoyed a rare week of vacation, relaxing and preparing for the upcoming busy schedule.
As expected, on the seventh day, Bell felt completely recovered. What surprised Bell, however, was that his recovery speed far exceeded his expectations. Only his mental recovery was slower, which is why it took a whole week. Otherwise, he might have fully recovered by the fourth day.
Bell noticed that after this injury, the integration of his body and magic had significantly increased. Combined with the rapid increase in his magical power since he turned eleven, this brought about a qualitative change that surprised Bell.
He didn't know what would happen if this continued. But he wouldn't allow magic to run wild again just to accelerate his physical transformation. As the saying goes, too much of a good thing is a bad thing; he needed to stabilize his foundation.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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